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Can a school nominate more than one candidate for the Jefferson Scholarship?
Schools are asked to nominate from their senior class that individual who excels in leadership, scholarship, and citizenship. A strong candidate possesses all three criteria which are weighed equally. We wish for your school's nominating committee to designate ONE student to compete for the Jefferson Scholarship. However, we will allow schools to nominate a second candidate IF and ONLY IF they feel they have two equally qualified candidates between whom they are unable to distinguish.

Must a nominee apply to UVa?
The nomination process is entirely separate from the University of Virginia admissions process. The nominee is not required to apply to UVa by our December 1 deadline, but we strongly encourage them to submit an application to the University by their January 1 deadline. Note: SAT I or ACT scores are required for admission to the University as a first year and arrangements should be made to have taken one of the tests prior to January of the nominee's senior year.

I have applied (Early Action or Regular Decision) to UVa and am waiting for my decision. How do the possible outcomes impact my candidacy for the Jefferson Scholarship?
It is important to understand that the Jefferson Scholarship selection process is completely independent of the University of Virginia’s admission process. Your designation as a Jefferson Scholar Nominee does not influence the decision made by the University of Virginia’s Office of Undergraduate Admission. Likewise, the results of the Jefferson Scholarship competition do not influence your admission decision. Necessarily, your application to the University of Virginia is reviewed with the same parameters used to evaluate the nearly thirty thousand applications the Office of Undergraduate Admission expects to receive.

The separate application tracks will play out in your case depending on the results from each process. To help clarify individual situations, the applicable scenarios are outlined below:

*Early Action Applicants*
If you are DENIED admission to the University of Virginia through the Early Action review, then you will be automatically disqualified from consideration for the Jefferson Scholarship. In the case that you had been invited to participate in a regional interview at a later date, we will notify the regional chair on your behalf that you will no longer be participating.

If you are DEFERRED admission or ACCEPTED to the University of Virginia through the Early Action review, your standing in the Jefferson Scholarship selection process will not be affected.

*Regular Decision Applicants*
Your participation and status in the Jefferson Scholarship competition will have no impact on your admission decision from the University of Virginia's Office of Undergraduate Admission.

The Jefferson Scholars Foundation, like its namesake, knows that virtue and talent come from all walks of life. Indeed it is this knowledge that drives the Foundation to search the world over for its recipients.

The Jefferson Scholarship is the premier undergraduate scholarship at the University of Virginia. Scholars are selected through a rigorous selection process that is based on exceptional performance in the areas of leadership, scholarship and citizenship.